Visa and VAT reforms may boost Gulf tourism to UK, says MP

Upcoming changes to UK travel rules could attract an increasing number of tourists from Gulf states, a British MP has told The National.

Britain will become “a much more attractive destination” for travellers from GCC member states when the electronic travel authorisation system is introduced next week, amid growing hope that tax-free shopping will be reintroduced in next month’s budget, Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said.

Mr Clifton-Brown has vociferously backed a campaign to reintroduce taxfree shopping for tourists, citing a potential boost to British retailers.

With GCC travellers expected to visit more frequently due to the ETA, it could have a significant impact, he said.

The ETA – which will be introduced on February 22 – is cheaper, faster and easier to apply for than the existing electronic visa waiver.

It is open to citizens of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, and will allow them to make unlimited visits to Britain over two years.

Travellers from Jordan are also included in the scheme.

“In 2019, travellers from GCC states spent around £2 billion on tax-free shopping in Europe,” Mr Clifton-Brown said. “Around 66 per cent of this was spent in the UK.

“So, this is a very important market for us. But in 2022, GCC shopping spending fell by 35 per cent in the UK compared with 2019 levels, while it grew by 108 per cent in France.”

Tax-free shopping, which allowed tourists to claim back VAT on goods purchased in Britain, ended three years ago at the initiative of then-chancellor Rishi Sunak, now UK Prime Minister.

But in a recent letter to Mr Clifford-Brown, the Office for Budgetary Responsibility – an independent government spending watchdog – said it was reviewing its original calculations and would publish its finding alongside Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget next month.

Several British business leaders have been vocal in their support for reinstating tax-free shopping.

Heathrow Airport on Monday said that by ending the practice, Britain had “shut the door on home-grown growth” by “turning away international shoppers”.

Mr Clifford-Brown said the proposed return of tax-free shopping “is about creating a level playing field with our nearby competitor destinations in the international visitor market”.

“All the evidence is showing that by becoming the only European country not to offer tax-free shopping to international visitors, those travellers, many of whom are on multi-country tours of Europe, are simply choosing not to shop in the UK,” he said.